Sounds of Sudan

• Artist: Various Artists
• Rating:
• Release Date: 1990
• Total Time: 73:03
• Type: Collection (various artists)
• Genre: World

Review

A collection of songs culled from recordings made during a stop in a European tour by three of Sudan's more popular artists in 1986; Abdel Gadir Salim, Abdel Aziz El Mubarak, and Mohamed Gubara recorded a number of tracks while touring together. Abdel Gadir Salim, accompanying himself on the oud, provides a look at the more rural sounds from the Kordofan area of Sudan. El Mubarak gives a much more urban sound, complete with influences from the greater world. Mohamed Gubara provides a contemporary palette lyrically, but accompanies himself on the ancient tambour lyre. The sound is an interesting one throughout the album, with careful picking on the ouds mixed with the basic bouncing accompaniment strokes. Accordion work from Azhari Abdel Gadir helps push the music of the two oud players considerably as well. Vocally, the first two are mildly similar, holding a good deal of the same vocal aesthetics. Gubara, on the other hand, sings in an abnormally high range, not quite at falsetto level, but getting there. Without delving into full-fledged modern Sudanese pop, there aren't a terribly large number of artists or albums of Sudanese semi-traditional music on the market. This album is one of a few in a relatively narrow field, and does well as such. Give it a listen as an introduction to the music of a rather large region of influence that doesn't quite conform to the sounds of the rest of North Africa. ~ Adam Greenberg, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Umri Ma Bansa		Abdel Gadir Salim	(8:52)
Al Noam Djafani		Abdel Gadir Salim	(8:20)
Maqtool Hawaki Ya Kordofan		Abdel Gadir Salim	(9:04)
Afra El-Helwa		Abdel Aziz el Mubarak	(7:39)
Ya Izzana		Abdel Aziz el Mubarak	(8:18)
Ya Marri Bebaitna		Abdel Aziz el Mubarak	(7:55)
Noora		Mohamed Gubara	(6:05)
Guroosh Edjin		Mohamed Gubara	(7:01)
Rahiel Gumriyiel		Mohamed Gubara	(9:49)

Credits

Abdel Gadir Salim (Vocals), Abdel Gadir Salim (Oud), Abdel Gadir Salim (Performer), El Zubeir Mohamed el Hassan (Tabla), Abdel Aziz el Mubarak (Vocals), Abdel Aziz el Mubarak (Oud), Abdel Aziz el Mubarak (Performer), Azhari Abdel Gadir (Accordion), Mohamed Gubara (Vocals), Mohamed Gubara (Tamboura), Mohamed Gubara (Performer)